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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

Editorial: The big one will come without warning — so be prepared now

Photograph by: Sean Vokey
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck near Haida Gwaii Saturday night was one of the biggest ever recorded in Canada but still a pale shadow of the big one we’ve been talking about the past couple of decades.

We were lucky that no one was hurt and there was no significant damage. We know that when the big one comes luck won’t be enough to forestall catastrophic damage, injuries and loss of life. We have to be ready for it.

What we learned again on the weekend is that the preparations we have made since scientists started understanding that we straddle an earthquake zone that can be expected to unleash massive destruction once every 300 to 500 years still aren’t enough.

The provincial emergency plan was given a good test. Some of the quick response to what could have been a major disaster showed that years of planning are starting to pay off. But the notification system still needs work. In particular, it needs to recognize that social media and the Internet are no longer afterthoughts, but must be considered a first line of response.

The Haida Gwaii earthquake was large enough to potentially cause significant damage and trigger a tsunami. For communities potentially affected by the seismic event, the damage of an earthquake would be immediate and self-evident. Tsunamis, as we have so tragically witnessed most recently in Japan, arrive later, often delivering their massive energy hundreds and thousands of kilometres away.

The first tsunami warning was issued by the West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre within a few minutes of the earthquake. That warning triggered B.C.’s emergency response and warning system, again within minutes.

In some communities, the word got out quickly. In others, including some that could have been in the path of a tsunami, local officials were left wondering for too long how they should react. The first notification to Twitter, a social medium that British Columbians are increasingly turning to for breaking news, didn’t go out for almost an hour. That response needs to be improved. As we would expect, emergency measures officials are conducting a post mortem to see what they can learn. Figuring out how to use the Internet more effectively should be high on the list.

One measure we would have expected would have already been in place is a warning system that would allow them to insert a crawl across the bottom of television screens, providing up to the date information.

We are still a long way from bringing our buildings and physical infrastructure to standards we now believe are needed to minimize damage and in some cases to keep them from being death traps. That work continues and while we don’t expect it can be completed soon, given the costs, the Haida Gwaii earthquake illustrates why we need to continue to consider seismic upgrading as a pressing need and a worthy use for tax dollars.

Perhaps most importantly, we hope that individual British Columbians will take the Haida Gwaii event as a reminder that when the big one comes, it will do so without warning. It may come in the middle of the night or a during a raging snowstorm. It may come while you are reading this. The preparation that individuals can do is relatively inexpensive and can and should be done now.

Make sure you have supplies for three days in a safe, accessible place. Keep shoes by your bed. Have some form of emergency lighting. Know how to shut the gas if you have it in your home. Have a personal plan.

Find more information on what you can do at www.pep.bc.ca

Anyone who doesn’t make the preparations necessary to take care of themselves will become someone who will have to be looked after at a time when resources will be scarce.

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